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Welcome to the Republic Wireless Wiki The purpose of this wiki is to provide helpful and unbiased information about the Republic Wireless service and phones. Because this wiki is neither sponsored nor endorsed by Republic Wireless, some information may deviate from the official positions of Republic Wireless. What is Republic Wireless Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, Republic Wireless is an innovative new mobile carrier offering "hybrid" phones. A hybrid phone receives service from either Wi-Fi Internet connections or traditional cell service. Proprietary software bundled with the phone automatically switches between Wi-Fi and cellular service without the need for user involvement. Only phones containing Republic's hybrid technology firmware can be used with the service, and that firmware is not available for installation on phones that work with other carriers. Whenever possible, Republic's phones will use Wi-Fi Internet service for calls and texts as well as data. Voice calls over Wi-Fi Internet use the VoIP (Voice over IP) infrastructure of Republic's parent company, Bandwidth.com. Texts (SMS and MMS) are also sent and received over Wi-Fi using Republic's texting infrastructure. When Wi-Fi Internet is unavailable and the monthly service plan permits it, Sprint's nationwide cellular network takes over for calls, texts, and data. On cell service, voice calls use the CDMA network, and texts use the phone's data connection (3G or 4G/LTE) whenever possible. Monthly service plans are prepaid and have no contract commitment. There are no limits for voice minutes or texts, regardless of monthly plan, even on roaming cell service. For the base plan that includes cell service, cellular data may be purchased automatically or on-demand at a fixed price per gigabyte. At the end of the month any unused data is refunded to the account, and that credit used to reduce the upcoming month's billing. Republic's low monthly cost is mainly due to preferential use of Wi-Fi Internet rather than cellular network service. Republic further reduces costs by not operating a traditional call center for customer service or technical support. Instead, support incidents are opened online from Republic's support page. Responses to support requests are sent via E-mail and also may be viewed by the customer upon returning to the support page. Tech support reps may also call customers to expedite troubleshooting when necessary. For issues that don't require direct involvement by Republic, customers are encouraged to assist each other in online Community Forums. While Republic describes their business as "spearheading a wireless freedom movement to return value and control of the smartphone experience", there are still some restrictions on that freedom - mainly in that Republic's phones contain proprietary firmware and cannot be used with other carriers. Prospective new customers should review The Complete List of Caveats to learn more about limitations, and The Complete List of Kudos to learn about some of Republic's services that go above and beyond official policy. Republic Wireless currently accepts customers from all 50 states, but does not directly ship phones to Alaska and Hawaii. Cellular coverage is limited to the 50 states, but the phones can use Wi-Fi service anywhere in the world. Outbound calling is limited to the 50 states and Canada regardless of location. Republic Wireless is a division of Bandwidth.com, founded in 1999, whose network and communications solutions power other innovative services from Google, Skype, Vonage, and many more. Learn more about Republic Wireless: http://www.republicwireless.com The Republic Wireless community discussions are here: https://community.republicwireless.com/welcome Last edited: 05:44, April 1, 2016 (UTC) Help us fill out these new Pages Republic Wireless and Your Wi-Fi Router Unsupported Short Codes The Complete List of Kudos Current Open or Unsolved Issues Feature Requests Using Google Voice with Republic Wireless Latest activity Category:Browse